Spirit Lake goes from village to city
Editor’s note: This is the eighth in a series of articles exploring the history of Spirit Lake and its environs as the community nears its centennial in August. Spirit Lake native Keith Spencer became interested in local history when he came across some old photographs while remodeling his home. He and his wife, Janette, researched the photos’ origins, began collecting old documents for posterity and now can’t seem to stop.
The creation of Frederick Blackwell’s Spirit Lake was a distinct departure from most towns as it was the first city (and perhaps the last) in the Inland Empire to be planned, platted and erected in virgin forest and in an organized manner. Perhaps the first Spirit Lake Herald, dated April 3, 1908, said it best: “…. As a result, where stood an immense forest untouched by the hand of man six months ago, there stands a bustling and growing city of upwards of 1,000 population.” This is neat stuff, but let’s drop back to late 1907 when a lot was going on, including the incorporation of a city.
Even in 1907 one didn’t create a city without a certain amount of administrative hokum, so after several informal discussions, a mass meeting of the citizenry was called on Jan. 5, 1908. Most of the town turned out, quickly agreeing to incorporate and then signing a petition to be submitted to the Kootenai County commissioners asking for incorporation of the city. The commissioners took favorable action on Jan. 14, officially naming the town as “The Village of Spirit Lake” and formally appointing five trustees. Depending on which document (the April 3, 1908, paper or the first meeting minutes of the village trustees) you choose to believe, Spirit Lake trustees were officially sworn in (W. T. Hireen was voted chairman) and the town officially launched on either Jan. 17 or 18. The meeting minutes declare the date Jan. 18; so does this column.
Upon incorporation, negotiations with Interstate Telephone were started immediately and phone service was available prior to 1910. The first telephone in town was installed in the ancient log house of the illustrious J. D. Wright. Remember that this was the guy who supposedly didn’t like progress and sat on a stump with a rifle to frighten the townspeople away. That story was rubbish.
Meanwhile, the ever-present Blackwell was chartering the new Bank of Spirit Lake, which opened on Dec. 9, 1907, in a handsome new brick building, which still stands on the southeast corner of Fourth and Maine. With capital backing of $60,000 (a lot for this period) this bank was successful for many years. In fact it weathered much of the bank collapse period during the Great Depression, not folding until sometime after 1935.
There were a number of other major events during late 1907: school opened with 12 students; construction of Daw and Dahl’s Hotel Northern began; construction of the main Panhandle mill started; Panhandle crews began hauling logs; the I&WN railroad offices moved into the newly completed train depot; and union church services began. The Catholics and Presbyterians led the way. The Presbyterian Church building, where Sabbath services are still held today, was the first church building in Spirit Lake.
Hotels were a big part of early Spirit Lake, partly because there were a lot of single mill workers and partly because you had to operate a hotel to obtain a liquor license. In early Spirit Lake there were at least six hotels and numerous boardinghouses. Perhaps the grandest of all was the three-story brick McMahon Hotel, which was to become the Spirit Lake Hotel and later, after the mill closed, became the Spirit Lake Apartments. Unfortunately, this fine building burned in 1974, bringing a sad close to the hotel business in Spirit Lake. In 1909, Kootenai County went dry (no alcohol), thus putting a big crimp on the hotel business. The Hotel Northern and several other establishments quickly went broke. However, the “wets” carried the day in a 1911 county election and the remaining hotels soon returned to prosperity. This was not entirely good as several Spirit Lake Herald editions complained about the “pigs” letting the drunks lie in the streets. Turns out that the term “pigs” was at that time editorial slang for the police.
A first-class hospital was opened by Dr. Pringle in March of 1908. This hospital was modestly subsidized by the Panhandle Lumber Co., and this sturdy building remains in use today as the Whitehouse Apartments. This author remembers watching his father being sewed up in that facility after an ax accident.
School opened on Maine Street in November 1907 with 12 students. The student population grew so fast that the school had to move to another temporary facility until the permanent school was completed in late 1908. The school was initially funded by private donations, but after the Village was incorporated, tax revenue became available. The community authorized a bond to build a permanent school in August of 1908.
At the start of construction, the Spirit Lake Land Co. decided that a first-class city needed an opera house. Plans were formulated and construction started on Feb. 19, 1908, at Sixth and New Hampshire. The building was completed on April 1, but this classy facility was no April fool. Spirit Lake quickly embraced this hall and all manner of events were held here for many years. It was soon dubbed the “Assembly Hall,” hosting everything from traveling shows to opera singers and town meetings.
Two early events stand out. First, the Kootenai County Republican convention, a great success, was held here during August of 1908. Second, the Spirit Lake Tigers basketball teams played here for a number of years until the gym at the school was finished. Basketball was a little shaky; the arena was well-lighted and the ceiling was plenty high, but the court had to be laid out diagonally to squeeze it into the building. After the Depression arrived, usage dropped off and the building began to age. Energetic Toe Beito, later a mayor of Spirit Lake, bought the hall, spruced it up and turned it into a roller-skating rink. The finely finished maple floors made for wonderful skating and the building was used as a rink for a number of years. Eventually growing old, the building was torn down in the ‘50s.
At about the same time, work started on Railroad Park, a 30-acre site located between the railroad depot on the west and the higher town on the east. When completed in June, it was glorious to behold. There were tall trees, lawns, lots of rose and other gardens, and numerous pathways leading to the new town. My mother, hired as a schoolteacher at Spirit Lake, arrived around 1920; she described the park as the most beautiful place that she had ever seen. There is nothing left of this wonderful park except the base of the large stone fountain.
In February and March, construction started on both a large icehouse and a rather plush two-story boathouse. Ice was cut each winter for shipment to Spokane and elsewhere for many years. The boathouse was to become a fixture at the North end of the lake and numerous steamers plied the lake’s waters until the ‘40s.
The original boathouse was a fancy two-story affair, which suddenly became a plain one-story structure. After much research, we discovered that a fire had destroyed most of the upper story and the lower story was repaired with a relatively flat roof. Research of this issue was both extended and interesting.
June was a big month as the big mill started its ceaseless cutting, with capability of producing 50 million board feet of lumber every year.
In the early days, sports were a big thing in Spirit Lake. Spirit Lake boys and girls school teams were competitive from the beginning; semipro baseball was big from the start. The ballpark was completed in April 1908 and the team started play soon after. The league consisted of teams from Spirit Lake, Newport, Sandpoint, Rathdrum and Coeur d’Alene. The Spirits contracted with several players from both the professional Northwest and Pacific Coast leagues. This field still exists, but is now smaller and used only for Little League baseball.
Independence Day has always been a big event in Spirit Lake, but the first Fourth was the best of all. Major Fourth of July festivities were being rotated among various North Idaho communities and the new town was awarded the event for 1908. Barely six months old, the community worked diligently to be ready. They were, indeed, ready by the Fourth, with the town spotless and really gussied up, bunting and all!
The Blackwell line (I&WN), as the railroad was now called, ran a special passenger train from Spokane and Rathdrum, bringing more than 1,000 folks into town for the day, and it was quite a day. The bars were up and running, the new band was playing and the whole town turned out. There were numerous events, including a parade, wheelbarrow and other races, music in the park and, of course, a dandy fireworks display. The main attraction was a slate of boxing matches with canvas ring, ropes, seating and all the rest. Spirit Lake had arrived.
Next: The Panhandle Lumber Co. Limited.